


Pulses Can Drive From Here

by ibyh



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Idk where this is going yet but i'm having fun, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slice of Life, unedited
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 20:40:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17494976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibyh/pseuds/ibyh
Summary: Jeongin wondered how he treaded the line of friend and maybe-something-else so carefully.(We're never done with killing time, can I kill it with you?)





	Pulses Can Drive From Here

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of a mess. I wrote it in an hour and didn't edit it, but in any case it's gonna be multi-chapter and the chapters will also probably end up being way longer than this one. Anyway, enjoy I suppose :)

     “Hey, Jeongin? You good?”  
     Jeongin snaps out of his headspace and looks away from the car window he was staring through to face Hyunjin in the driver’s seat.  
     “Yeah, yeah. Just thinking.” Jeongin tries to avoid Hyunjins eyes. Fails.  
     “Well, what’s up? You sort of look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Hyunjin faces back towards the road. Jeongin takes a deep breath.  
     “What’s going to happen when you leave for college? To us, I mean?” Jeongin tries to ignore every possible implication of the word _us._ Now isn’t the time to be selfish and drag his massive unrequited crush into a friendship he intends to keep.  
     “Oh. Well… i’m not sure.” Hyunjin taps the steering wheel, an inconsistent, almost frantic beat. “I never really considered- thought that far ahead-”  
     “It’s okay, it’s fine. It can wait.” Jeongin attempts to soothe Hyunjin, softly placing a hand near his knee, as he doesn’t want Hyunjin panicky while behind a wheel, or panicky in general, really. He also really likes physical contact with Hyunjin, but that’s a secret Jeongin would prefer to keep to himself, hopefully for the rest of his life. It's sort of off topic right now.  
     The rest of the car ride is uneventful, the boys silently pulling in to Hyunjin’s driveway. Hyunjin’s parents are gone on another business trip, leaving Hyunjin, an only child, frequently alone in his too-big home in the suburbs, surrounded by other too-big homes of nearly identical color scheme, with granite countertop kitchens, open foyers, and tacky framed prints of beaches lining the hallways.  
     Jeongin shut the front door behind him, Hyunjin already toeing his shoes off and putting them on the empty rack, his parent’s heels and loafers both in suitcases in god-knows-where. Jeongin may as well live here now, with how many nights he spent in the Hwang house, either to avoid his own family, finish schoolwork, or talk to Hyunjin. Mostly to talk to Hyunjin, if he were to be honest with himself.  
     Jeongin makes his way to the kitchen, dropping his backpack into the chair next to him.  
“Any snacks?”  
     Hyunjin opens the fridge, making a cursory glance. “We have… strawberries and whipped cream? I need to go grocery shopping again, I just got this month’s allowance, so we can stock up.” Hyunjin, as Jeongin knew, received an “allowance” (his words, in an attempt to sound like he consistently had parents in his life) for groceries and other expenses outside of the already-paid utility bills.  
     “Okay. Great. When do you want to go?” Jeongin pulled two bowls out of the cupboard for the strawberries. “We can go tonight, if you want. The essay for English isn’t due until Thursday, so…” He places Hyunjin's bowl in his usual spot, and looks down at his.  
     Jeongin thinks a bit about the nature of their friendship, all in a split second. They tread a thin line, between best friends and sometimes, just maybe, hints of something distinctly _different._ From casual cheek and forehead kisses goodnight, to, at this point, sharing Hyunjin’s bed when Jeongin slept over (more often than not, now), comforting each other through the specific overwhelming loneliness only absent parents can give. Jeongin thought about his stupid, hopeless, secret crush, a secret he would be content dying with him, knowing Hyunjin didn’t want him, and almost definitely didn’t like boys, and Jeongin was supposed to be happy and grateful for the friendship he had, so why did he want more so badly?  
     “Innie? The whipped cream is gonna be completely liquid by the time you actually get to dipping the strawberries in it.” Jeongin looked up from the empty bowl he didn’t realize he was staring into, and across the table to Hyunjin, who was looking at him so intently it was like Jeongin was an open book to him. Jeongin’s heart melted, but just slightly. Just a bit. He had a bit of strawberry tinted whipped cream on his lips, which Jeongin desperately wanted to wipe off or kiss off or-no. No kissing. Off limits. Jeongin held back a sigh. This wasn’t some stupid drama where he could just make bold moves on his best friend and everything would be okay. He was already resigned to his admittedly pleasant fate, so why try it? He’s happy as he could be, given the circumstances, and so’s Hyunjin. He grabs the carton of strawberries.  
     “I was thinking,” Hyunjin’s voice was muffled by the obscene amount of fruit in his mouth. “We can go for a drive tonight, see the sunset, hit the grocery store? He chewed down the strawberries. Swallowed. “Good plan? I know you like drives during sunset, so I thought it’d be a positive way to kick off the semester and all.”  
Jeongin felt his mood brighten, unsure of whether the cause was the prospect of the drive or that Hyunjin knew his favorite things. He was screwed.


End file.
